Star Traks, Waystation, and the "I WANT TO BELIEVE" poster
belong to Alan Decker. The Explorer, her fated crew, and all the
mistakes and uncomfortable situations that come about because of her
are gladly owned by Anthony Butler, Copyright 1998. Paramount owns
everything else, including my eternal soul.
If you're offended by mildly disturbing language, situations, and the utter
disregard of some of Star Trek's greatest premises, better hit the "Back"
button on your browser right now. If not, welcome aboard!
STAR TRAKS: THE VEXED GENERATION
"Sibling Rivalry, Part Two"
BY ANTHONY BUTLER
Commander Conway gripped Suva's chair tightly as the
first volley of fire from J'hana's ship slammed into the
Jatrall.
"Raise shields and arm the weapons!" Suva cried,
glaring up at Conway. "It appears your officer is not quite
as reliable as you thought she was."
"I can't explain." Conway said, trying to keep hold
of Suva's chair.
"Maybe she's just trying to make her act convincing!"
Ford suggested, cowering in D'aht's grasp.
"I'm f***ing convinced!" Conway cried.
"Damage report!" D'aht barked, looking to her
operations officer.
"They were able to breach our hull in several sections
before we could get our shields up. Moderate damage to the
lateral shield grid." The officer replied.
"Return fire, all weapons!" Suva ordered. "Get us
out of here!"
"Shields failing!" The navigator cried. "Their
weapons are far superior to our own."
"Open a channel to the Gadvash." Conway said. "Tell
them to get some help. We won't be able to stop this ship
ourselves."
"Are you suggesting we sacrifice ourselves to cover
your friends' retreat so that they can bring
reinforcements?" Suva asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, you got a problem with that?" Conway asked.
"Actually, I like the way you think." Suva smiled, as
the ship shook again, several panels exploding around them.
"Do it, Namor."
"We're getting a message, text only." Tilleran said,
as Lt. Commander Larkin watched the firefight between the Jatrall
and the other ship on the viewscreen. "Commander Larkin...
pull back and go for help. J'hana is now in charge of the
Shalta'prax. We will hold them off. Commander Conway."
"What an odd message." Larkin said. "I wonder what
would cause Lieutenant J'hana to change loyalties so
suddenly."
"What should we do, Commander?" Tilleran
asked. "Should we help them, or leave?"
Larkin thought a moment. "We are severely
underpowered. A ship that matches one of the ships we faced
in the Brinmar system would easily dispose of us. Besides
the fact that Commander Conway's message is an order, it
also seems the wiser choice."
"So we're just going to leave them there?" Tilleran
asked.
"Affirmative." Larkin replied. "Plot a course to
rendez-vous with the Explorer."
At Tilleran's command, the Gadvash pivoted around and
shot off into warp.
"The other ship is getting away, Mistress J'hana."
Charix reported from the weapons console. "What should we do?"
"Let them go." J'hana said coldly. "It is a weak ship.
I want you to disable the Jatrall and capture its crew."
"Readying a team now, sir." Charix replied. "It shall
be a massacre."
"I want the bridge crew alive, Charix." J'hana
commanded. "If one of them dies, you do."
"Very well." Charix replied, making for the turbolift.
J'hana sat back in the command chair uneasily. She was
wondering if attempted murder of a superior officer was a
court martial offense.
"Time to intercept?" Captain Baxter asked, leaning
forward eagerly in the command chair as the Explorer streaked
through Andorian space.
"Five minutes, sir." Ensign Madera replied from the
helm.
"What's the status on the Gadvash?" Baxter asked,
turning back to Lt. Gellar.
"Hard to tell from this distance." Gellar replied. "I
can tell you it's still in once piece, but not much more than
that."
"Damn." Baxter said. "I knew we should have gone in
there with the Explorer and shot our way to the Shalta'prax
base."
"Stop it, Andy." Peterman said from Baxter's left.
"You know you did the most sensible thing you could have
done. What have I told you about beating yourself up?"
"Tell that to Commander Conway." Baxter sighed. "Him
and Ford could be dead right now."
There was a soft chuckle from Ensign Madera.
"Hey, that's one of your crewmembers, missy!" Baxter
said angrily. "And he could be dead, and you think that's
funny?"
Madera shrunk a bit in her chair. "He grabbed my
chest, sir. Several times. And he was always trying to get
in my pants."
Peterman sniffed sadly. "That's what made him so
special. He had so much love to give."
"Save the memorial, Kelly." Baxter said. "How much
longer, Madera?"
"Thirty seconds."
"Take us out of warp. Prepare to lock transporters onto
Tilleran and Larkin and bring them back here." Baxter
ordered.
"The rebel base is actually an ancient cache of
technology known as the 'Vaxva,' which, loosely translated,
means the 'Poison Apple.'" Larkin said, indicating the
graphic of the huge installation on the conference lounge's
viewscreen. The senior staff had assembled so quickly,
Tilleran and Larkin didn't even have time to change out of
their Andorian getups.
"As in Adam and Eve?" Baxter asked.
"The same, sir, at least, in the context of Andorian
mythology. Nevertheless, it simply means a forbidden
treasure."
Tilleran swiveled in her chair towards Baxter. "About
a thousand years ago, the Andorians were one of the most
advanced races in the quadrant. They had everything from
cloaking devices to disruptors, to quantum torpedoes, hundreds
of years before most of today's advanced races."
"What happened?" Lt. Commander Richards asked.
"They were too violent." Tilleran explained. "The
planet's elders realized if they were allowed to keep their
technology, they would tear theirselves apart. So they had
most of the war technology of the planet destroyed, and the
rest buried deep in an asteroid, presumably to be accessed
once they had grown mature enough to use it."
"So they unwrapped their Christmas presents a little
early?" Browning asked.
"Affirmative." Larkin replied. "An Andorian by the
name of Lular found it during a mining expedition, and, along
with his co-workers, captured the installation and the two or
three ships sent to oversee the operation. Within two weeks,
they had seized control of the Andorian government."
"Enter the Shalta'prax." Baxter sighed.
"Correct." Larkin said, taking her seat.
"So where does J'hana fit in to all this?" Peterman
asked.
"She is Lular's sister." Larkin explained. "And
evidently, she has taken over leadership of the Shalta'prax."
"She must have a reason." Peterman said. "She wouldn't
just ignore her oath to Starfleet like that."
"Could you get any readings from her, Tilleran?"
Baxter asked.
"Andorians are quite difficult to read to begin with,
Captain. And since I had no visual contact with J'hana, and
was not in a close proximity to her, I was unable to get a
reading."
"What about the Andorians that are helping Conway and
Ford." Baxter said. "Suva and D'aht."
"Very horny, in my opinion." Tilleran replied. "Full
of pent up sexual frustration."
"That's not what I meant." Baxter said. "I meant,
where do they fit in?"
"Two agents from the defunct Andorian government."
Larkin said. "Their mission is to renew the former
government and destroy the Shalta'prax at all cost."
"Andy, we have to go there and help them."
Richards said. "We can't just let J'hana and
these...Shalta'prax continue this."
"I agree." Baxter said. "Where did you say this
installation is located?"
"The Tarcoba belt." Larkin replied.
"Very well." Baxter said, slapping his comm badge.
"Baxter to Madera. Set course for the Tarcoba belt.
Maximum warp. And rig us for silent running. I don't want
to be picked up until the last possible moment."
"Acknowledged." Madera replied.
Baxter turned his head to watch the stars outside the
conference room rush towards them as the Explorer shot into
warp.
Standing up, Baxter glanced over to Tilleran and
Larkin. "As soon as Dr. Browning restores you two to your
former...hue, I want you to begin working with Mr.
Richards on a way to pierce this installation's defenses.
Use whatever data the Gadvash gathered on it."
"Sir, that doesn't give us much to work with."
Tilleran said.
"It'll have to be enough." Baxter said. "Because one
way or another, I'm going to smash the crap out of that
poison apple."
"Our shields are down!" D'aht shouted. "They're
sending over boarding parties!"
The Jatrall rattled as the other ship locked on its
tractor beam.
"I hope you can fight better than you make love."
Suva said, withdrawing her blade and preparing for combat.
"Well, I've had more experience fighting." Conway
said matter-of-factly.
Suddenly purple beams appeared all around the bridge,
coalescing into rather angry-looking Andorian warriors.
Conway withdrew his phaser and shot at the first three
warriors that approached him, ramming his elbow back into
the gut of the one behind him.
"We shall not give up!" Suva cried. "You all will
fight until you have expired your last breath!!!"
"Welcome to the Chorbak." Charix sneered, shoving
Commander Conway into his cell.
Conway winced as he slammed up against the bulkhead.
Next to him, arms crossed, Suva appeared extremely
upset. "I thought we agreed to fight to the last breath."
"I didn't agree to anything." Ford said from the
opposite end of the brig.
"Don't worry, Suva. J'hana will get us out of this."
Conway said, taking a seat next to the Andorian and leaning
back.
"She got us into this, you imbecile." D'aht said,
glaring down at Lt. Ford. "You humans are so stupid."
"She has a plan, I know it." Conway said resolutely.
"She wouldn't just betray us."
Suddenly the doors to the brig opened up, allowing Lt.
J'hana to enter.
She walked over to the cell and examined Conway and
Ford. "You two should not have come." Her eyes then
wandered to Suva and D'aht. "And who the hell are you?"
"I am Suva." Suva said proudly, raising her chin.
"And this is my sister D'aht. We are of the hive P'cran. A
most noble hive. One that does not believe in treason."
"Too bad." J'hana sneered, looking them over. "You
obviously do not believe in fashion, either."
"What are you doing, J'hana?" Conway whispered. "We
could have been killed!"
"You should be glad that you weren't, and leave it at
that." J'hana said. "I am not the same person I was when
last you saw me, Conway. I lead these rebels now, and I
have an enormous cache of weaponry at my disposal."
"That weaponry belongs to the Andorian people! Not
some upstart faction!" Suva shouted. "You are insane to
believe that one person can control such a power."
"Silence!" J'hana shouted. "You will speak only when
spoken to. Now, Commander Conway. Where is the rest of
your team?"
"They escaped, no thanks to you." Conway said.
"They're going to bring the Explorer back, and Captain
Baxter's going to put a stop to this nonsense once and for
all. And you'll be court martialled. Is that how you want
it?"
"It is not how it will be. One way or another I will
fulfill my honor." J'hana said, turning to leave. "Now the
four of you will be left here to ponder your ignorance.
Perhaps you can find some way to... scrape up some iota of
dignity."
"She's as lovely as you made her out to be." Suva
muttered. "I hope you see the error of your ways."
"I don't know." Conway said, rubbing his chin.
J'hana silently made her way down the corridor,
towards the room she had been held in a day before.
Lular was crouched inside the room, knees drawn up,
his eyes intent on the door as J'hana stepped in.
"Good afternoon, brother." J'hana said, squatting
down in front of him.
"I have nothing to say to you." Lular growled. "You
took my greatest achievement from me. You convinced my
followers that your place in the family was superior. That
you could use your Starfleet knowledge to help defeat the
Federation. You have united my group against me and taken
away my one chance at honor."
"I thought you had nothing to say to me." J'hana
said. "Listen, Lular. Your plan was doomed to fail. You
can't take on the entire Federation. All you can hope to do
is send our people into another regression. One that we'll
never recover from."
"And what do you hope to do?" Lular asked angrily.
"Save us." J'hana said, standing up and leaving.
"Okay, everyone, this is the installation." Lt.
Commander Richards said, adressing everyone that was
gathered in engineering.
A graphic of the sprawling installation appeared on
the main systems screen, tiny arrows pointing to all its
major features.
"It's made up of an alloy we can't identify, and it
has a shield grid like one we've never seen before,"
Richards went on. "The question is, can we find a way to
get through with our transporters."
"Not a chance." Lt. Tilleran said, rubbing the sore
spots on her forehead where the antennae had been. "The
shields are several steps past the metaphasic design. They
have a constantly changing signal variance that makes it
impossible for us to break through with a beam."
"What about a shuttlecraft?" Ensign Stuart asked.
"If we could adjust the shields to the same frequency, it
might have a chance of getting through."
"But that is the problem, Ensign." Lt. Commander Larkin said.
"The shields' phase modulation changes faster than we can
compensate for. We would have to find a processor that is
faster than anything we have on a shuttle."
"I think I know where we can find one." Richards
said, staring at Larkin.
Suddenly everyone turned to look at Larkin.
"Commander, certainly you do not mean to use my brain
to-"
"You read my mind." Richards smiled. "Okay
everyone, open her up. We don't have much time."
"Come." Captain Baxter said, looking up from his
terminal.
Counselor Peterman strolled into Baxter's readyroom,
plopping down on his couch. "What are doing, Andy?"
"Changing the Explorer's prefix codes." Baxter said,
looking back to his terminal.
"Because of Lt. J'hana?"
Baxter nodded. "We're not sure where her loyalties
lie anymore. And I don't want to risk this ship finding
out."
"As J'hana's therapist, I feel fairly certain that she
wouldn't do something like that." Peterman said. "She has
a great deal of respect for the Federation. And she feels
quite a bit of loyalty for you."
"It's not showing right now." Baxter muttered, not
looking up. "She's captured two of my officers."
"I'm sure she has a reason." Peterman replied.
"If not?" Baxter asked, looking up again.
"Well, Lt. Gellar has always wanted a promotion."
Peterman said, managing a weak smile.
"I hope you are happy." Suva said angrily, glaring at
Conway from her cot. "Thanks to you my vessel has been
captured, we have been imprisoned, and your precious
Lieutenant has been left to rule the quadrant as she pleases."
"I'm not worried." Conway said. "This is nothing we
can't handle. Starfleet has certain protocols to be used when
dealing with alien technology, and I'm sure our Captain
will..."
Conway stopped.
"What is it?" Suva asked.
"When J'hana left, she said 'perhaps you can find some
way to scrape up some iota of dignity.' 'Iota.'"
"So?" D'aht asked.
Lt. Ford leaned up. "Protocol Iota Three Two Seven."
"Exactly." Conway said with a smile.
"And what exactly is 'Protocol Iota Three Two Seven'?"
Suva asked exasperatedly.
Conway's smile faded. "When a Starfleet officer comes
across advanced weaponry that could be misused by the enemy,
it is that officer's responsibility to make sure that weaponry
does not get into the hands of the enemy, at any cost."
"Even death." Ford said solemnly.
"A most Andorian-sounding protocol." Suva said
fiendishly.
"I like it." D'aht agreed.
"We have to get out of here and stop her." Ford said.
"She's planning on taking out that whole installation, and her
with it."
"We're not going to stop her." Conway said, slapping his
thighs with resolve. "We're going to help her."
Captain Baxter emerged from his readyroom, as officers
scrambled around the Explorer's bridge. "Report, Lt. Gellar."
Baxter shouted over the Red Alert klaxon.
"Four Andorian raiders just appeared about fifty
thousand kilometers of our stern, on an intercept course."
Gellar reported.
Baxter walked to the front of the bridge, looking back
at Counselor Peterman, who sat nervously on the edge of her
chair. "A welcoming party from our dear friend J'hana."
"They're arming weapons, Captain." Gellar said
urgently.
"Raise shields, weapons at the ready," ordered Baxter,
"and give me an analysis on those ships. Are they like the
ones we faced in the Brinmar system?"
"No, sir." Lt. Gellar said uneasily. "They're running
on a much higher power signature?"
"What for?" Baxter asked.
Suddenly the Explorer shuddered.
"High powered antiproton cannons sir. Almost as potent
as the Flarn's." Gellar reported. "Our shields are down to
eighty percent. And the other three ships are coming into
firing range."
"Load all torpedo bays and fire when ready." Baxter
ordered, returning to his command chair. "Can we make it to
the Vaxva in one piece without taking them out?"
"Not a good idea, sir." Gellar said. "We'd be fighting
on two sides."
"Good point." Baxter replied, pressing a button on his
command chair. "Bridge to engineering. I need you guys to
give me some suggestions on how to take out these Andorian
raiders, or we'll never even make it to the Vaxva."
"We're going to need to exploit their one weakness,
Captain." Lt. Commander Richards replied. "What we've come
up with down here is that the Andorian raiders are too bulked
down with high-powered technology. Much like the Defiant,
they're just to powerful for their size."
"Direct hits from three of the ships." Gellar said over
the din of the antiproton assault. "Our own shields are down
to fifty-six percent."
"So how can we exploit this weakness?" Baxter asked.
"The shields, sir." Richards replied. "Based on what
we've gathered, the shields are running way too much power
through the grid."
"So if we can channel enough energy in there, they'll
overload." Baxter reasoned.
"Exactly. And all we need to do that is run a focused
polaron beam through the phaser emitters and focus on
their shield generators. That will cause a cascade throughout
their shield grid."
"Thank goodness for technobabble." Baxter replied. "You guys
get the polaron beam ready; meanwhile, Mr. Gellar, I need you to
plot a shield generator point on all four of the ships."
"Yes, sir." Gellar replied.
The Explorer heaved again, as the Andorian raiders bore
down.
"We can't take much more of this, Andy." Peterman
said from beside Baxter.
"Everything is under control, Kel." Baxter said. "You
have nothing to-"
Another shot rocked the Explorer.
"Shields down to thirty!" Gellar shouted.
"Where's that polaron beam, Richards!" Baxter cried,
stabbing the comm button.
"Online, Captain!" Richards called back.
Baxter called up the diagram of the other ships on his
monitor. "Ensign Madera, take us into the middle of their
echelon. Gellar, target one phaser bank on each ship, and
prepare to fire the polaron beams!"
Gellar quickly entered the commands. "Targeted,
Captain!"
Baxter leaned forward, gripping his chair as his ship
shuddered around him. "Fire!"
Four blue beams lanced out of the Explorer's saucer and
upper engineering section, holding on the smaller ships until
each ship was overcome with a wave of yellow electricity.
"We've done it, sir!" Gellar cried out. "Shields down
on all vessels."
"Take out their engines with the phasers and leave them
here, then go back to Yellow Alert." Baxter ordered, settling
back in his chair. "We've got bigger fish to fry."
"Reports coming in from our squadron in the Banla
system, sir." Charix called out. "They engaged the Explorer
and were defeated."
"Shelat." J'hana cursed, grinding her teeth angrily.
"Then they are coming here."
"It would seem so, sir." Charix replied. "Shall we
ready our defenses?"
"No." J'hana replied, standing from her chair. "I am
putting you in command of the Chorpak and ordering you to
evacuate the Vaxva."
"To what end, mistress?" Charix replied.
"Do not question me." J'hana ordered. "It is what must
be."
Charix seemed to consider this. "When you took over
this operation, I did not hesitate in following you, despite
the fact that you came on board this ship a prisoner. After
all, you are the elder sister, and your decree, by law,
supercedes Lular's. But you must understand--"
In the blink of an eye, J'hana's blade was unsheated and
pressed against Charix's neck.
"Dare you question my ability to lead?" J'hana asked
through clenched teeth. "Shall I remind you of my prowess
with the blade?"
"That-that will not be necessary, J'hana." Charix
replied. "I apologize."
"I have no need for your apology. All I require is your
obedience." J'hana seethed.
"And that you will recieve, mistress." Charix replied.
J'hana put her blade away and stepped toward the
turbolift. "Very well. Have all personnel aboard the Vaxva
transported to this ship. Lular and I will take over command
of the Vaxva and use it to stop the Explorer. In the
meantime, you will take the Chorpak to the Dendra system to
meet up with the rest of our ships. Is that understood?"
"Completely, mistress." Charix replied, turning to bark
commands at one of the crewmen.
The guard peered into the brig that contained Conway and
the others. "You Terrans being good?"
"Stinking up the place." D'aht sneered angrily. "Is it
really necessary for you to put us in here with such filth?"
"You are the one that associated with them to begin
with," the guard said.
"Shut up." Conway said, thumbing his nose at Suva.
"Now you see what we have to put up with." Suva
groaned. "Could you at least put us in the other cell?"
The guard considered this. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt.
But no funny stuff?"
"Not unless you want any..." Suva said suggestively.
The guard shrugged, punching up a code next to the cell.
"Let's see what you've got."
Suva and D'aht ducked out of the cell. The guard turned
the field back on as soon as Suva and D'aht were out.
"Now which of us do you want first?" Suva asked.
"Are you kidding?" The guard replied. "I want both."
"My kind of man!" D'aht said, leaping onto the guard
along with Suva.
The three of them fell back against the brig's control
console.
"Hey, not so rough!" The guard said, as Suva and D'aht
pummeled him with their fists.
"Wimp." Suva asked, ramming her fist into the guard's
chin, instantly knocking him unconsious. She then hit a
sequence on the control panel, powering down the whole block
of cells.
"Let's get out of here." D'aht cried, grabbing phasers
from their places on the wall and throwing them to Ford and
Conway. "We've got a station to take."
"This is extremely undignified." Larkin said, as Lt.
Tilleran finished wiring her head into the shuttlecraft
Parry's dashboard.
"As an android, you are not capable of experiencing
emotions, including indignance." Lt. Tilleran replied,
adopting her best android tone. "Now be quite while I rewire
your logic circuits."
"Indignance is not a trait of emotion. It is simply a
fact." Larkin replied, twitching as Tilleran worked.
"Besides, the bannana battery has its window ray clock snart."
"Oops." Tilleran said, reaching into the top of
Larkin's head. "I must have loosened your speech
processors."
"Spank you, Lieutenant." Larkin replied. "Spank you
berry clutch."
"That's still not right." Tilleran frowned, glancing at
Larkin's head, which now looked up at her, scrunching up and
twitching as she worked.
"How's it coming?" Lt. Commander Richards asked,
stepping over Lt. Commander Larkin's headless body as he entered the
shuttlecraft.
"It could be better." Tilleran replied. "Ms. Indignant
here is putting up a fight."
"Now, Larkin," Richards said, bending down and
looking Larkin in the eye. "I expected you to give your
mommie a little more cooperation."
"It tis snot a splatter of communication, Lieutenant
Gerrymander Lizards." Larkin replied. "I pimply--terd--
trot--blit-"
"I knew I should have run a head cleaner through the
last time I did her maintenance check." Richards said,
examining Larkin with a tricorder. "Her head's all full of
dust."
"Actually, there's still some sand in there from when we
took her to the beach on Corsica." Tilleran said, turning
Larkin's head upside down and shaking it.
Along with dust and sand, a tiny object fell out of
Larkin's head and hit the deck with a metallic clang.
"Hey," Richards said, bending down and picking the
object up. "It's my yin-yang pin. I've been looking all over
for this thing."
"Crotch mitch barn flop." Larkin observed, as
Tilleran flipped her head back up.
"Her wiring's still funny." Tilleran said, sticking her
hand back inside Larkin's head and feeling around. "It will
be a while before we can get her integrated into the shuttle's
computer system."
"Well, be quick about it." Richards said. "We'll be
at the Vaxva soon."
"I assume we will be pickling our flag on the
Amsterdam." Larkin said.
"Keep at it, Tilleran." Richards replied, ducking out
of the shuttlecraft.
When he went to step over Larkin's body, the android's
leg suddenly flew upwards, hitting Richards directly between
the legs.
Richards fell too his knees, falling over Larkin's
body and crying out in pain. "What the hell?"
"Plardon me, Compender." Larkin said.
"All decks, make ready to go to warp." Charix's voice
said over the intercom.
"We don't have much time." Conway said, leading Ford,
Suva, and D'aht through the cooridors of the Chorpak.
"We have to transport aboard the Vaxva before they go to
warp."
"The transporter room should be this way." Suva said,
pointing down a side corridor.
The group burst into the transporter room, stunning the
operator and mounting the pad.
"Can you track down J'hana's signal?" Conway asked, as
Suva worked the controls.
"Hold on...got it. Prepare to transport." Suva said,
typing in some commands.
Before Suva joined the rest of the group on the pad, she
entered some commands into the terminal.
"What are you doing?" Conway asked.
Suva jumped onto the pad. "I am disabling their
secondary command functions. They will not be able to use the
security systems to find out where we went."
"Good thinking," Conway said, as the group
dematerialized.
"What are you doing?" Lular asked, as J'hana worked at
the panel surrounding the Vaxva's massive reactor.
"Making us martyrs." J'hana replied, pressing some
commands into the panel.
"You're going to destroy the Vaxva, aren't you?" Lular
replied angrily.
"Maybe." J'hana said. "If, by some chance, overloading
the reactor causes the station to blow up, well, that will be
a happy coincidence."
"I don't understand." Lular said. "I thought you
respected this power as much as I did."
"I do." J'hana replied. "That's why I must not let it
get into the wrong hands. Our people will never advance as
long as the temptation of this technology looms around us. It
must be destroyed."
"I...don't...think...so!" Lular cried, rushing forward
and knocking J'hana up against the reactor core. He rammed
his bound fists into her chest, bringing them up into her
face.
"You still punch like a girl, Lular!" J'hana shouted,
kicking Lular back into a panel and following up with a head-
butt.
"You're just jealous because I'm more of a girl than you
are!" Lular cried, sliding underneath J'hana and hosting her
into the air, slamming her back into the bulkhead.
J'hana struggled to right herself, yanking out her blade
and ramming it into Lular's shoulder, pushing him down and
straddling her legs on top of him. "This is for attacking an
elder sister." J'hana twisted the blade. "And each twist
reminds you of your ignorance." J'hana pulled the blade out
and held it up high. "The next time you defy me, this blade
will pierce your heart."
"J'hana!" Conway cried, running into the room, followed
by Ford, Suva, and D'aht.
J'hana looked up from her impaled sibling. "Oh,
Commander Conway. Fancy seeing you here."
"Fancy seeing you here!" Conway cried, running over and
grabbing J'hana by the uniform and pushing her up against the
wall. "Is that all you can say? What the f*** is going on?"
"Really, Commander, it is all quite self-explanatory."
J'hana said.
"Well, we've got plenty of time to talk about this now."
Conway replied, letting go of J'hana.
J'hana straightened her uniform indignantly. "Actually,
we don't."
"What does she mean?" Suva asked, stepping forward.
Lular stood up, clutching his wounded shoulder. "She's
going to overload the reactor and blow up the station."
"With us on it?" Ford asked. "Oh, that's brilliant!"
"I did not expect you two to be here." J'hana said.
"But as it is, you will recieve a death more honorable than
you would otherwise have had."
"Enough with the doubletalk." Conway said. "Stop the
overload now. The Explorer will be here soon and we'll be
able to turn the Vaxva over to the authorities." Conway
looked back at Suva and D'aht. "Then they can do with it as
they see fit."
"Thank you, Commander." Suva said, folding her arms.
"Authorities?" J'hana asked, eying Suva and D'aht.
"These two? I don't think so."
Suva shrank back as J'hana came closer. "What ever do
you mean?"
"I didn't get a good look at you earlier, but now I recognize
you both." J'hana sneered. "I should have known you two would
come here."
"Who are they?" Conway asked.
"Two of the most sinister minds in the Andorian
underworld, Commander. They are expert assassins,
mercenaries, and thieves." J'hana said. "And you think *I* run
with the wrong crowd?"
"That's enough!" D'aht cried, grabbing Lt. Ford and
wrapping an arm around his neck, jamming her phaser against
his head. "No one move! The station is ours now!"
"You could have done that before J'hana stabbed me, you
stupid bitch." Lular said, taking Conway and Ford's phasers
and aiming them at J'hana. "Well, well, well, I guess the
tables have turned."
"This changes nothing, Lular." J'hana said, standing
over next to Conway and Ford.
"We'll see about that." Lular said, motioning to Suva
and D'aht. "D'aht...stop the reactor overload. Suva, keep an
eye on these three Federation fools."
"You really f***ed this up, Commander." J'hana said
angrily.
"Sorry. We were trying to help," Conway replied.
"I did not require your help. I had the situation well
in hand."
"At least you were right about one thing," Ford said.
"J'hana did have a plan."
"What is he talking about?" J'hana asked.
"There was some...doubt...of your loyalties." Conway
said. "I think everyone assumed you had betrayed Starfleet."
"Including you?"
"I wasn't sure." Conway said. "But something told me
you weren't going to betray us."
J'hana huffed. "I am honored by your faith in me,
Commander." She narrowed her eyes in Ford's direction.
"Unlike some others."
"Nearing the Tarcoba belt, Captain." Ensign Madera
called out from the helm.
"Take us out of warp," Baxter ordered, "what do we have
on sensors, Mr. Gellar?"
"A large installation matching the sensor logs of the
Gadvash, sir. It's extremely high powered, running with
advanced polyphasic shields. Sensors can't penetrate deep
enough to get anything else."
"Not even defenses?" Peterman asked.
"No, but I'm guessing they have at least the same
firepower as the ships we faced in the Banla system,
Counselor."
"At least." Baxter said. "Ready all weapons and put us
back on Red Alert."
"Aye, sir." Gellar replied.
"Baxter to Richards, how far are we from launching
that shuttle?"
"Not long now, sir." Richards replied.
"Be ready to launch as soon as possible, Richards. I
don't know how much time we can give you guys."
"Understood. Richards out."
"Hail the station Mr. Gellar." Baxter said, approaching
the viewscreen.
A female Andorian appeared on the viewscreen. "How can
I help you, Captain?"
"Who is this?" Baxter asked, peering at the woman.
"Where is Lieutenant J'hana?"
"I am Suva of the house P'cran. J'hana is indisposed at
the moment."
"Suva, thank goodness the station is under friendly
control. We've heard that you are here representing the
Andorian government. What happened to my officers?"
"They are...safe here, Captain. I suggest you drop your
shields in order to beam them aboard."
"Acknowledged. We'll drop shields as soon as we're in
range." Baxter said.
"This feels wrong, Andy." Peterman said
uncomfortably. "Where are all the other Andorian raider
ships?"
"Beats me. I just want to get my officers back and get
out of here. Now that the Andorian government has the Vaxva,
and the rebel group's threat is minimized, things should
return to normal."
"We're in transporter range now," Ensign Madera
reported.
"Drop shields and prepare to recieve our team, Mr.
Gellar. But keep on your toes."
"Prepare to recieve transport." Captain Baxter's voice
said over the transporter room's comm system.
"Ready down here, Captain." Lt. Hartley said, hitting
the proper controls on her terminal.
Three beams coalesced on the transporter pad, and Hartley
was about to welcome them back aboard the Explorer. But the
beams didn't resolve into the shapes of three humanoids. They
became three long, glowing green cylinders.
"I'll be damned!" Hartley shouted, slamming her hand
back on the "Return to Sender" button on her panel. "Hartley
to Baxter. They just transported a load of quantum explosives
over here!"
The moment the cylinders disappeared, they began to
reappear. Hartley hit the return button again, causing them to
disappear again.
"Get the shields up, Captain!" Hartley shouted.
"What are they doing?" Peterman asked.
"I'm not waiting to find out. Mr. Gellar-" Baxter
shouted.
Suddenly a blast slammed into the Explorer, causing the
deck to pitch wildly under Baxter's feet.
"It's okay. I got the shields up in time." Gellar
replied.
"Fire all phasers." Baxter shouted. "Hartley...what's
the status on that explosive little christmas present?"
"I sent it back before they could get thier shields up.
Then they beamed it out into space right outside our port
bow."
"Damn it, what's going on over there?" Baxter asked,
gripping the deck as the station's weapons pummeled the
Explorer.
Suva hovered over Lular's shoulder as he worked. "How
much longer, Lular?"
"Patience, woman, this is delicate work. Work which
would be much easier if we weren't being fired upon."
"Destroy that starship!" Suva barked, turning back to
D'aht.
"It is not as simple as that, even with this weaponry."
D'aht said, as she worked the station's controls.
"What are you doing, Lular?" J'hana asked, straining
against the electronic bonds that had her, Conway, and Ford
tied down to the bulkhead.
"You'll see soon enough, J'hana!" Lular cried. "And
you think you know what the Vaxva is! Won't you be
surprised!"
"Something is happening aboard the station." Gellar
said, checking his panel. "Power is doubling, the hull plates
are...shifting!"
"On screen." Baxter said, stepping forward.
On the viewscreen, the massive glowing station glowed
brighter, actually pulsing...growing, busting right out of the
asteroid it was trapped in.
"What the hell is happening?"
"It's sprouting warp engines, sir!" Gellar reported.
"It's turning into a starship!"
"Wow." Baxter said, watching as the ship rose out of
the remaining chunks of asteroid, wings spreading out of its
stretching conical shape. "It's a trasformer."
Lular gripped a railing as the Vaxva began to shudder
around him. "I've done it!"
"I don't believe it." J'hana sighed, as the station
continued to rumble. "He's unlocked the Vaxva's most deeply
hidden secret."
"The Vaxva is a transformer?" Conway asked.
"I should have known." J'hana grunted. "It only makes
sense that the Vaxva would be mobile."
"Maybe you were sick the day they taught this in your
Andorian history class." Ford suggested.
"Shut up!" J'hana cried angrily.
"Baxter to Richards. The Vaxva is a starship, and
it's about to leave. You guys need to get over there now,
before it's too late!"
"With the level of technology the Vaxva supposedly
contains, no doubt the warp engines are far superior to our
own." Lt. Commander Larkin noted, her head comfortably
nestled on the shuttle's dashboard.
"Which means we have to get over there before it goes to
warp." Tilleran said.
"Which is any minute now." Richards said, sliding
into the pilot's chair and activating the shuttle's engines.
"We're ready for launch, Captain. Open up the bay doors."
"You're clear, Commander." Baxter replied.
Richards piloted the shuttlecraft out of the bay,
bringing it around towards the massive Vaxva.
"That thing is humongous." Tilleran noted.
"Go get 'em, guys." Baxter called out over the comm.
"We'll cover you."
"Find a good space to park this thing, Tilleran."
Richards ordered. "Larkin: you start calculating the
shield configuration."
"May I remind you that this process has not been
blessed--ert--I mean tested yet?"
"I thought we'd fixed that!" Richards said, as the
Vaxva loomed closer.
Tilleran winced as bright beams of phaser fire flashed
by the window. The Explorer sailed by them, its weapons
blazing at the Vaxva. "Don't look at me!"
"Configuration ready!" Larkin said. "Just melt two
slices of cheese on top of the cream of chicken soup for a
yummy winter treat!"
"She's crosslinked her file chains!" Richards said,
steering the shuttle around a beam from the Vaxva.
"But that does sound good, doesn't it?" Tilleran asked.
"Do you have us a place to clamp down, yet?" Richards
asked, looking out over the massive hull of the Vaxva as they
skimmed along it, weaving in and out of weapons fire.
"Got it." Tilleran replied. "There's a power transfer
node four hundred meters to port. It's putting out enough
power to throw the graviton sync on the shields off."
"Recomputing." Larkin said. "Shield frequency
attained. It is four point nine pounds of cooked pasta, to
which you should add approximately eight ounces of your
favorite spaghetti sauce."
Richards slapped the side of Larkin's head several
times. "Come on you two bit hunk of junk, work!"
"Do not blame me, Commander. As I recall, it was you
who built this brain." Witmann replied.
"And I'm starting to regret it. Now recompute the
shield configuration."
"Working." Larkin stated. "Frequency attained."
"It better be right." Richards said testily. "Or
we're all as good as chowder."
"Clam or corn?" Larkin asked.
Richards just smacked her again as he took the shuttle
in towards the hull of the Vaxva.
Both Tilleran and Richards closed their eyes as the
shuttle glided through the shielding of the Vaxva as if it
wasn't even there.
"We did it!" Tilleran said joyfully. "We actually did
it!"
"Was there ever any doubt?" Larkin asked.
"Hold on..." Tilleran said. "The polyphasic shielding
is adjusting. It's closing in around the shuttle."
"We have to get out of here." Richards said, yanking
Larkin's head off the dashboard and programming the
shuttle's escape transporter.
"What about my body?" Larkin asked.
"Tilleran-" Richards commanded, running towards the
back of the shuttle as the forward panels began to spark and
explode.
"Got her!" Tilleran said, slinging Witmann's body over
her shoulder, stabbing the energize button.
"The shuttle just exploded!" Lt. Gellar reported.
"Were they able to transport off?" Peterman asked,
looking back.
"Affirmative." Gellar replied. "They're on board."
"What about the Vaxva?" Baxter asked.
"It's powering it's engines." Gellar said. "The
engines aren't configured any way I've ever seen. No telling
how fast that ship can go."
"Be ready to pursue them, Ms. Madera." Baxter
commanded. "Baxter to engineering. Prepare to pour
everything we have into the engines."
"What if we can't catch them?" Peterman asked.
"Then it'll be up to the others." Baxter sighed.
"Now we take our places in history!" Lular said
victoriously, climbing out of the maintenance shaft and
running to the front of the reactor room. "Ready us for
immediate departure, D'aht. First stop, Andor!"
"What about the Explorer?" Suva asked.
"A petty inconvenience at best." Lular replied.
"We have an intruder alert." D'aht called out. "It
seems that shuttle we destroyed was able to breach
our shields and beam a team aboard."
"You were saying?" Suva said angrily.
Lular looked back at J'hana. "Friends of yours?"
"Undoubtedly." J'hana said, "now you will learn a
painful lesson. Do not f*** with Starfleet."
"Go find them and stop them, Suva." Lular ordered,
staring at J'hana. "Dead or alive, I want them neutralized."
"Right away." Suva said, grabbing a phaser and storming
out of the reactor room.
"Engines ready." D'aht called out.
"Engage!" Lular cried. "It is time to claim my
empire!"
J'hana watched the viewscreen at the front of the room
as the stars rushed towards them.
"Lular...the Explorer is following. They're increasing
speed to overtake us." D'aht reported.
"Well, punch up our speed. These engines are better,
are they not?"
"Surely." D'aht said, hitting several controls. "That ship is
no match for us."
"We shall see." J'hana said confidently.
"We don't have much time." Richards said, looking to
Tilleran. "Have you found the control center?"
"This way!" Tilleran said, indicating the direction the
group should move in.
"Are you coming, Larkin?" Richards asked, looking
back at Larkin.
The android brought up step behind Richards and
Tilleran, head tucked comfortably under one arm.
"Affirmative, Commander. And might I thank you for jury-
rigging a remote link between my head unit and my body. It is
almost as convenient as actually having my head attached."
"I do what I can." Richards said, withdrawing his
phaser. "Now let's move!"
"Engines are holding at Warp Nine point nine." Madera
reported. "But I don't know how long we can keep this up."
"Can we get a clear shot at the Vaxva?" Baxter asked.
"Maybe slow it down a little?"
"Negative." Gellar replied. "Not with all the power
dumped into the engines."
"So even if we can stay with them, we can't fight them,
Andy." Peterman said. "This is useless."
"I can't just leave all my officers over there." Baxter
said.
"Engines nearing critical." Madera reported. "At this
rate we'll have to come out of warp in five more minutes."
"Then keep us going until then, Ensign." Baxter
ordered. "I want us to be in the game as long as possible."
Lular paced the area in front of the viewscreen
thoughtfully, considering his next move.
"What do you plan on doing when you get to Andor?"
J'hana asked. "Are you just going to blow it up? Is that how
you'll claim your destiny?"
"Not at all." Lular said, turning. "I'm simply going
to make an announcement. I'm going to announce my coronation
as supreme leader of the Andorian people."
"Oh, that's rich." Conway said. "You think they'll
fall for that?"
"Yes, they will." J'hana said. "He has the Vaxva. He
controls the supreme power of our people--for now."
"And for all time, J'hana. I suppose now you can see
that it is I who will be remembered when our hive is spoken
of?"
"Only when stupidity is spoken of, Lular." J'hana said.
Lular was about to reply when he saw Suva appear in the
doorway. "Well, Suva, what of the Starfleet invaders?"
Upon closer inspection, Lular realized that Suva was
unconcious, leaning limply against the doorway.
"They're right here!" Tilleran cried, jumping out from
behind Suva's body and firing her phaser.
Richards and Larkin followed, managing to stun D'aht
before she could reach for her sidearm.
"Free us!" J'hana shouted, watching the fray with
anticipation.
Lular jumped behind a console, grabbing a weapon he
found in a locker near the console.
"Duck!" Tilleran shouted, pushing Richards to the
deck as Lular fired the weapon, which vaporized a large chunk
of the deck and ceiling.
"Yikes, that's one hell of a gun!" Richards
said.
"Gotta love those ancient Andorians." Tilleran noted,
taking up position behind the reactor.
Lt. Commander Larkin sat her head down and worked
diligently to untie Ford, Conway and J'hana.
"What the hell happened to you?" Conway asked.
"It is a long story." Larkin replied.
"Still, it's nothing to lose your head about." Ford
laughed.
No one else seemed to think the joke was funny.
"Bring us out of warp." Baxter sighed, watching on the
viewscreen as the Vaxva soared out of range.
"One more second and we'd have been space dust."
Peterman said, glancing over to Baxter. "Could you have cut
that any closer?"
"Maybe." Baxter said, looking back to Gellar. "Where
are they headed, Gellar?"
"The Andor system, sir." Gellar said. "We can still
get there fairly quickly at warp four, which, coincidentally,
is all we can sustain now."
"Better than nothing. Do it, Madera." Baxter ordered.
Lular peered out from behind the console he was using as
cover. All the Starfleet officers had taken cover, no doubt
to avoid another blast of his weapon.
A sudden beep from the console caused Lular to jump.
They had reached Andor.
Punching in the command to come out of warp, Lular
stepped out from behind the console. "You Starfleets can come
out now. We've reached our destination. Now, don't you think
it's time we finish this without getting anyone hurt?"
"You're outnumbered, Lular!" J'hana's voice called out.
"But I have the big gun!" Lular said, prompting one of
the officers to emit a shrill squeak of fear.
"Shut up Ford!" Another voice said.
"In one minute I'm going to start blowing things up!"
Lular cried.
"And risk hitting the reactor?" J'hana asked. "I don't
think so. Give it up, Lular."
"Never." Lular said. "You all will surrender, or I'll
kill every one of you right now."
"And how are you going to do that?" J'hana's voice
asked.
"Computer, activate a polyphasic forcefield three
hundred sixty degrees around me. Then evacuate the oxygen
from the rest of this compartment."
"Oh." J'hana responded.
"We're screwed now." Conway said, suddenly feeling the
air become thinner.
"Not exactly, Commander." Larkin said. "You still
have me."
"Joy." Ford said. "If you haven't noticed, Commander,
you can't even keep yourself together. How the hell do you
think you're going to save us?"
With her last gasps of air, Lt. J'hana pulled Larkin's
head close to her, "Blow up the reactor, Larkin."
"Don't do it!" Conway gasped. "That's an order!"
"Do it!" J'hana gasped. "For honor!"
"I have no concept of honor." Larkin said, as Conway
and J'hana fluttered out of conciousness. A smile spread
across Conway's face. "However," Conway's smile disappeared,
"it would seem J'hana's advice is the only way to assure that
this technology does not fall into Lular's hands. And in this
case, Protocol Iota Three Two Seven would seem to apply."
Larkin approached the reactor, pointing her head
toward the controls so that she could reset the reactor
overload with the other hand.
"What are you doing?" Lular asked.
Larkin did not respond. Now that she was in a vacuum,
she could not be heard anyway.
"You can't destroy the reactor! You'll kill us all!"
Lular ran towards Larkin, bouncing against the forcefield
and flying backwards. "Computer--drop fields and restore
oxygen!"
Lular lept towards Larkin, who flung him away
effortlessly with her free hand.
J'hana rubbed her head as conciousness began to return.
The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was a blue
blur flying towards her.
Groggily, J'hana grabbed Lular by the scruff of his neck
and rammed him into the bulkhead.
Lular swung his fist back into J'hana's face, jumping to
his feet and running for the ship's control console. "We'll
finish this once and for all, my dear sister!"
"Reactor overload set." The computer's cold male voice
reported.
"Excellent." Larkin said, smashing the controls with
her fist.
"What have you done!" Lular cried out. "You've killed
us all!"
J'hana rammed into Lular from behind, slamming him into
the console. "It's over, Lular."
Conway and the others had awakened quickly enough to
ascertain what Larkin had done.
"How the hell are we going to get out of this one?"
Ford asked.
"We'll have to use the Vaxva's transporters."
Richards said, running over to the only console that wasn't
smashed. "Tilleran, I'm going to need some help over here!"
"This ends here!" Lular said, flipping J'hana over him
and slamming her to the deck.
"Done." Tilleran said, hitting a final control on the
transporter. "We just need to move a little closer to the
planet and we can beam down."
Once he found the helm controls, Richards maneuvered the
huge vessel down towards the planet, just as J'hana and Lular
slammed into he and Tilleran.
"We've gotta get out of here!" Conway shouted, helping
Ford lift up Suva's unconcious form, while Larkin grabbed
D'aht.
"The coordinates are programmed." Tilleran said,
picking herself up. "Come on, J'hana, we don't have time for
your little brother-sister feuding!"
J'hana continued to struggle with Lular. "You guys go
ahead. I'll catch up."
"We're not leaving you here!" Conway said.
"Wanna make a bet?" J'hana asked, reprogramming the
transporter to leave her and Lular and stabbing the "energize"
control. "Have a nice trip!"
"I'll be a son of a-!" Conway shouted, as he and the
rest of the group dematerialized.
"You should have gone with them," Lular said, picking
himself up and slamming a fist into J'hana's stomach. "Now
you'll die here with me."
"If that is what it takes!" J'hana grunted, slamming
Lular up against the bulkhead.
"We're nearing Andor, Captain." Madera called out.
"The Vaxva has taken a direct vector for the planet's
surface." Gellar called out. "And its reactor core is set to
overload!"
"Where are Conway and the others?" Baxter asked,
turning to Gellar.
"Everyone but J'hana is on the surface of Andor."
Gellar reported.
"What about J'hana?" Baxter asked.
"I can't...wait a minute," Gellar's brow furrowed as he
studied his panel. "Sir, I'm reading two Andorian life forms
still aboard the Vaxva."
"The Vaxva's nearing Andor's atmosphere." Ensign
Madera called out. "They'll reach the surface in another
four minutes."
"Get them out of there." Baxter ordered.
"No can do, Captain. I can't get seem to get a positive
lock through all that radiation."
"Hail them."
Gellar shook his head. "No response, sir."
Ignoring the beeping comm light on the barely
functioning control panel, J'hana heaved the Vaxva to port,
making her best attempt to aim the massive starship towards
the expansive Sea of Rexax. It was her only chance to crash
the ship without endangering the population of her home
planet.
"No you don't!" Lular cried, throwing J'hana out of
the chair and pouncing on top of her.
J'hana rammed a fist into Lular's face, sending him
reeling backwards to the deck. "Yes, I do."
Tossing Lular to the side, J'hana searched out a map
of the ship. Finding one on one of the remaining unsmashed
data panels, J'hana quickly located an airlock. Even the
ancient Andorians needed a way out.
"Aha!" J'hana said, finding a hatch about fifty
meters from her position. "We're getting out of here,
Lular."
"I don't think so." Lular grunted, grabbing J'hana's
legs and pulling her down.
Meanwhile, the Vaxva continued to plunge.
Commander Conway, Lt. Commander Richards, Lt.
Tilleran, Lt. Commander Larkin and Lt. Ford rushed out onto the
bridge.
"The two Andorian sisters were working for Lular,
Captain." Commander Conway explained. "We stowed them in
the brig for now."
"We'll worry about them later." Baxter said. "What
about J'hana?"
"She's still over there." Tilleran said.
"Two minutes to impact." Madera called out.
"Come on, J'hana!" Conway said, watching as the Vaxva
sank into the atmosphere, flames licking at the sides of its
hull.
J'hana dragged herself along the deck, Lular tugging
at her feet. "This is insane, Lular. You can't win!"
"But I can, if you lose!" Lular cried out insanely.
"I'm taking you with me to the Bed of the Dishonored. Where
we shall lie forever, burning, twisting, melting in eternal
agony!"
"Shut up!" J'hana cried, kicking Lular in the face
and leaping to her feet, bolting for the airlock.
The reactor would be critical any minute now.
"No fair!" Lular cried, grabbing at J'hana's legs as
she scrambled up the ladder towards the hatch. "Look what
you've done, you Zhackmakakt!"
"Do you kiss our mothers with that mouth, hiveling?"
J'hana asked, twisting the seal to the airlock.
The hull was warm to the touch, which meant the Vaxva
was well through the atmosphere, and the outer hull was
probably burning up.
Lular scrambled up the ladder, grabbing for J'hana's
feet.
Wincing at the bright afternoon light of the Andorian
sun, J'hana climbed out of the hatch, watching clouds whizz
by at an unbelievable speed. They'd be past the cloud cover
in seconds. And then they'd dip into the sea.
J'hana tried to remember that she didn't want to die,
but every instinct she'd ever had told her that it was best
to die honorably. But was this so honorable? J'hana had to
think about that. If it wasn't, it wasn't like she could do
things over again.
Before J'hana could consider the matter any further,
Lular jumped out of the hatch, pushing J'hana over and
causing her to fall against the hot, singing hull of the
ship.
"And they say you can't go home again. Well they're
wrong. Goodbye, sister!" Lular cried out, slamming his
fist down on J'hana's fingers.
"I'll see you in hell, Lular!" J'hana screamed, free
falling straight down the side of the hull, and out into
open air...
Lular cringed as he watched the fast approaching
seascape, a welcoming blue eternity, ready to pull him
under.
At least he could die knowing J'hana would be dead as
well. Lular considered this a small victory.
A very small one.
With a deafening rumble, the sea welcomed him into its
arms.
J'hana screamed out in pleasure, reveling in the
feeling of the wind whipping past her face, opening her eyes
wide to face the approaching sea. She would face Death as
she had always planned, since the dawn of modern Andorian
wisdom.
"Sweet merciful Death, I scream out in defiance of
you!" J'hana cried. "Feel my fiery soul cut through your
void like a blade of pure duranium! Shrink back in fear as
I enter your domain, never to leave again! Great Hivemother,
welcome me into your chubby arms of love!"
Suddenly a massive explosion propelled J'hana back up
towards the heavens, feeling almost as if hell was refusing
to let her in...
"Why do you refuse me, Hivemother? Am I too dangerous for
even the likes of you?" J'hana cried out as she materialized.
Her momentum carried her right into Commander Conway,
knocking him to the deck with a thud.
J'hana lifted her head up, just in time to see the
huge explosion shaking through the Sea of Rexax on the
viewscreen. Like a massive fountain, a mushroom cloud of
water reached toward the heavens.
"Welcome back." Conway grunted, sliding out from
under J'hana.
"Confirmed, sir." Lt. Gellar reported. "The Vaxva
has been totally destroyed, along with sixteen square
kilometers of marine life."
"Nice to see you again, J'hana." Baxter said,
returning to his command chair and giving the Andorian a
sidelong glance. "Next time you have a family tiff, try to
keep us out of it, please."
J'hana leaned up, looking around the bridge. Her face
was still plastered with a smile, something her crewmates
had rarely seen. "What of Lular?"
"The other Andorian?" Baxter looked back to Gellar,
who shook his head. "We couldn't get a lock on him. I'm
sorry, J'hana."
"Think nothing of it. I have eighteen more where he
came from, thanks to the Andorian custom of multiple
marraiges." J'hana laughed, putting an arm around Conway
and Ford. "Come now, fellow warriors. It is time to drink
to a good battle. One that will be remembered for much time
to come."
"I just want to forget it." Ford whined.
"Just go along with her." Conway muttered, as J'hana
shoved the two into the turbolift.
"I will require some time off, Captain, to celebrate
my brush with death, and the death of my brother." J'hana
said, laughing as the doors closed.
"Granted." Baxter said, glancing over to Peterman.
"I'll start scheduling the counseling sessions now,
Andy." Peterman said hurriedly, calling up her
appointment book on the computer terminal.
"The sooner the better." Baxter replied.
Captain's Log,
Stardate 52444.3. The Federation Diplomatic committee
reports that things on Andor will be back up to speed in
less than a year. With the imprisonment of Suva and D'aht,
along with the rest of the now defunct "Shalta'prax," the
citizens of Andor can once again rest easy. In related
news, after two weeks of celebrating, mourning, drinking,
and counseling, my chief tactical officer is reporting back
for duty. I must admit, I've missed having her around the
bridge.
Captain Baxter strolled out of his readyroom, ice cold
glass of grapefruit juice in hand, ready to take on another
morning.
"Where have you been?" J'hana asked from the tactical
station. "The shift began ten minutes ago."
"I was reading some engine efficiency reports, if you
must know, J'hana." Baxter said, rounding the aisle down to
the command center. "You have a problem with that?"
"Not at all," J'hana said, straightening. "Why would
I have a problem with the decadent abuse of the strict
schedule of starship operations? After all, this isn't
really a starship, is it? No, just your own personal
playground."
"Do I detect a note of sarcasm, Lieutenant?" Baxter
asked, setting his glass down in the holder and turning back
to the Andorian.
"Affirmative, sir. After having the oppurtunity to
serve again on an Andorian vessel, I am even more convinced
that this ship must function in a more efficient manner."
"You know, J'hana, I've got a special slot for all the
complaints and suggestions my crew have on how to run this
ship. Wanna stick your suggestion in with the others?"
"I would be glad to, Captain." J'hana said.
Baxter stood up and bent over, thrusting his buttocks
in J'hana's direction. "Here you go. Right here, baby!"
The Captain was so busy laughing at himself, he didn't
notice Commander Conway approach from behind him.
"Here's my complaint, Captain." Conway said, shoving
his boot as hard as he could into Baxter's behind.
Baxter pitched forward, painfully smacking against the
deck.
"Suggestion noted, Commander, carry on." Baxter said,
his face smushed against the deck.
"You deserved that one, Captain." J'hana said.
Conway chuckled at Baxter as he ordered a cup of
coffee from the replicator.
"I have the week's security reports, Commander, if you
wish to take a look at them." J'hana said, withdrawing a
padd from under her station and holding it out for Conway's
inspection.
"Let's see," Conway said, paging through the items on
the padd. "Looks good to me. I--wait a minute..."
Conway peered at the final item.
STARDATE 52443.0.
LT. J'HANA AND COMMANDER CONWAY WERE FOUND
LURKING AROUND THE QUARTERS OF CAPTAIN BAXTER
IN A DRUNKEN STATE. ACCORDING TO AN INSIDE SOURCE,
THE TWO THEN PROCEEDED TO EMPTY A BOTTLE OF
ANDORIAN NIL-BUGS UNDERNEATH THE CAPTAIN'S DOOR.
THIS REPORT HAS BEEN REFFERED TO THE EXECUTIVE
OFFICER FOR HIS CONSIDERATION.
"What is your verdict, Commander?" J'hana asked,
maintaining her stoic posture.
"My verdict?" Conway asked, thumbing a button on the
padd. "Whoops, what do you know, I accidentally erased that
item. Too bad."
Captain Baxter looked back at J'hana and Conway,
reaching a hand down the back of his uniform and scratching
madly. For some reason, for the last day or so, his whole
body itched. "What are you two conspiring about?" He
asked.
"Just the weekly security reports, sir." Conway
chuckled.
"Oh," Baxter said, still scratching. "Anything
interesting?"
"Nope," J'hana said, putting the padd away. "Not one
thing."
NEXT:
Is the crew of the Explorer getting out-of-shape? Their new
visitor seems to think so. This surprise-guest puts the crew
on an exausting program of jazzersizing, but they have even
worse problems: Try Barney-style face-huggers on an
inhospitable planet! Be here in seven!